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Quill and Quire features Aminder Dhaliwal and Woman World
"Instagram star Aminder Dhaliwal makes her print debut with Woman World" / Quill and Quire / Suzanne Alyssa Andrew / August 7, 2018
In January 2017, Aminder Dhaliwal learned the pilot for the animated children's TV series she'd spent three years developing for Nickelodeon wasn't going to be made. Instead of lingering on the rejection, she launched a new project: a daily web comic. One year later, after amassing enough comics for a book (and a six-digit Instagram following), she signed a deal with Drawn & Quarterly for the worldwide rights.
Woman World is a refreshingly funny and imaginative feminist satire for the #MeToo era. After a birth defect wipes out the entire male population, women learn to talk again because they're no longer being interrupted. Under the leadership of women, the way people relate to one another changes. Priorities shift. Only grandmas remember what men were like.
Although the official release date for Woman World isn't until September, Dhaliwal is juggling her day job as a director for Disney TV animation with appearances at all the major comic conventions, including the Toronto Comic Arts Festival last May. After two long days of promotion at TCAF, she was still enthusiastic to talk about her book. "I'm excited to have something out there I'm proud of," she says.
Publishing Woman World is more than just a creative success. It finds the author finally speaking up, defending her ideas, and discovering an audience for her blend of playful, pointed humour.
"When I started [Woman World] I was going through a crisis of voice and [questioning] whether I was funny," Dhaliwal says. During the three years her TV pilot spent in development, it morphed into something totally different from what she'd originally pitched. Not only did she not get a show, in the end she hated her own pilot.
"The show became an accumulation of different executives' notes," she says. "I felt like I needed a stronger voice to be able to fight back on things I believe in. I would listen to notes and, because I valued my own opinion so little, I would assume every note was right. I kept changing my project to fit what they were trying to make, and not what I was trying to make."
This experience wasn't new for Dhaliwal. She grew up in Brampton, Ontario; studied animation at Sheridan College; and, almost immediately after graduating in 2012, landed an internship and then a job at Nickelodeon in L.A. But she lacked faith in her own ideas. "I'd get nervous at the end of a movie when my friends started talking about it because I didn't trust my own opinion of whether I liked it," she admits. "I was that confused."
Working at Nickelodeon, the Cartoon Network, and Disney helped Dhaliwal gain storytelling experience, but her failed pilot was a blow. Her friends, many of whom are also in animation and comics in L.A., suggested she start something new. "A couple of them mentioned making something daily, even if it's really small and for yourself," she says.
Finding a story didn't happen overnight, of course. She tried a few web comic ideas out, but it wasn't until she attended the Women's March in L.A. that she realized what she wanted to say – and how to say it.
"It was like a funny-sign convention," she says of the march. "A whole bunch of my friends posted their signs online and on social media and I watched as that human connection, that human empathy, instantly switched to people mocking, strangers leaving nasty comments. And that's where the idea started. I saw so many 'the future is female' signs, I wondered, 'What if it actually was?'"
At the same time, she recalls reading Adam's Curse: A Future Without Men by geneticist Bryan Sykes, about how the Y chromosome is disappearing and how, in a 100,000 generations or so, men could eventually die off.
"All of these ideas started coming together like that Beautiful Mind moment where I had overlays of equations and I was seeing it all," she says. She texted the concept to her friends Megan Dong, a comic artist and director, and Maha Tabikh, a storyboard artist and animator. Their supportive text exchange is included at the end of the book.
Dhaliwal ran with the idea, posting daily comics as a series online. It blew up on Instagram, where she has nearly 150,000 followers.
From direct messages, comments, and new follows, Dhaliwal learned what was working. She also practised defending her work. Not everyone loved Woman World. "From the first comic, there were people hating on the idea," she says. "Skip to eight months later and those people were defending the idea to newcomers."
While working out the deal with D&Q, Dhaliwal asked if the publishing date could be pushed up from 2019 to 2018. For many web comic creators, traditional publishing deadlines can seem glacial. "I'm used to a lot of nos in television, but they said okay, and I suddenly had a lot of work to do," she says.
Dhaliwal spent a harried four months laying out the manuscript, adding new comics, and finessing jokes. "With Instagram, I could control where people were pausing before a punchline with swiping," she says. "In a print layout, spreads didn't have the same effect." She enlisted the help of her husband, animator Nikolas Ilic, as colourist.
She made her deadlines by working on the manuscript every evening. Although she admits juggling a creative job all day with her own creation at night was exhausting, she enjoyed immersing herself in a diverse world of her own making, with a range of characters from young to old, in different shapes and sizes, all facing unusual situations. "Sometimes in television the designs of characters or their stories become homogenized and you become accustomed to drawing the same thing again and again," she says.
Dhaliwal originally pursued work in animation because she wanted to make children laugh. Now she's aiming at a much wider audience. "I hope there's something in there for everyone," she says. "Including for every man who reads it."
As to whether she would take another run at a pilot by adapting her own book, she says, "That I can't actually talk about."
Whatever she pursues next, the experience will be different. "I've learned when someone gives you notes it's an 'I feel' statement," she says. "No one can tell you, especially in creative endeavours, that something is right or wrong." Understanding that changed everything. "My voice was just like, 'I've been hiding here all along. You're finally listening to me so I'm going to start saying more things.'"
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When I Was 17: Kathy Rentsch
Kathy Rentsch is the assistant vice president of Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts. I was introduced to Kathy by my mom, who was friends with Kathy in high school. When they reconnected on Facebook a few years ago, I was always interested in hearing about Kathy's work, especially as a fellow member of the education community. I was just as interested to hear her story as to hear her thoughts on the current state of higher education. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
When you were 17, what did you want to be?
I don't think I gave it a whole lot of thought. My dad got an associate's degree after World War II, but I was really the first in my family to go to a traditional college. My mom worked from when I was about three, so I had that example of a woman that worked. If I were to think about myself back then, I think I was interested in a helping profession like social work, but I wouldn't have known it by that name. Generally the women that I knew that were working were teachers, nurses, those kinds of traditional jobs. I didn't really have a view of what else might be out there.
How did you decide to attend Boston College?
I went to a Catholic high school and I don't think I applied to any schools that weren't Catholic, but I don't think that was conscious. My family wasn't even very Catholic, so I'm guessing that was influenced by my guidance counselors. I looked at liberal arts colleges and I definitely wanted to be in a city. My top choice was Georgetown - that's where I really wanted to go. I had made some visits to various schools and I just fell in love with Georgetown. But I got waitlisted there and got into BC, which was my second choice. I thought, "Well, if I'm waitlisted, they don't really want me as a first choice," and my parents didn't have the experience to give me any perspective on that, so I just decided to go for BC. In the end, where you go probably doesn't matter as much as the significance we place on it, right? But, boy, at that point in your life, it seems like everything.
How did you choose your major?
When I started college, I thought that I would be pre-med and go to medical school. I started in biology, and I found out really quickly my first year that if I had to go through all that chemistry and everything to get to medical school, I was never going to survive. I wasn't enjoying it. So I moved into psychology, but I think the thing that shaped me more than anything in college was a program at BC called PULSE, which was a service program, but it was more than that.
I took courses in philosophy and theology and then I did service in the community, and every week we brought that service back into the classroom in the context of what we were studying. And BC is a Jesuit school, so there was a lot of emphasis on social justice and action.
I had some really powerful experiences with people who challenged me to understand what our commitment was to people who didn't have as much, who hadn't had justice in their lives. It really opened my eyes. We weren't a terribly wealthy family, but I had not experienced that kind of thing growing up. I did PULSE all four years, so even though it wasn't a major, all the other courses I took were built around that.
How did you get from college to where you are now?
I got a job in human services and I almost immediately realized that I wasn't going to go far unless I had more education, so I decided that I needed to go to graduate school. I got into the BU School of Social Work, and just by happenstance - I don't even know where I met this woman - I talked to somebody who had just graduated from the BU School of Social Work, and she said, "Don't do it. I have a lot of loan debt and I'm not really being offered any more salary than I was before."
Now, I'm sure her career path was probably stronger, but that really woke me up to whether I wanted to do this. And although BU was a good school for social work, I'm not really sure I was ready to make the commitment. So I didn't do it. I took a job in personnel at a biomedical instrumentation company, just to do something different. And then I decided to have [my daughter], Jess, and that took me off on a different pathway.
At that time, having a baby that young was not really what people were doing anymore. I left my job after my maternity leave, and for six months I didn't work at all. When we moved to Worcester, I applied for a job teaching English as a second language part-time at Quinsigamond Community College, where I work now, where I've been on and off.
One of the things I did with PULSE was I got very, very involved with a faculty member who was working to resettle about 80 Southeast Asian families who were refugees from Laos. She needed a lot of help getting families acclimated, where to buy food, how to use the T, getting them to doctors and social services and all that. So I got very involved with her, and I really thought maybe I would go work in refugee camps after I graduated. But by that time, they didn't really need just another English speaker. They needed Southeast Asians who had been in the country to come back and help. But I had done a lot of English teaching, so that was an easy transition for me to make, and it was fun.
I taught several different ESL classes and at that time, there was a lot of grant money for adult education, English as a second language, and programs where you bring literacy programs into the workplace. So the college got one of those grants, and I got hired to be the coordinator for the first program. We were very successful at getting grant money, so over the next eight or nine years, we had multiple grants and I was coordinating all of that. And we had lots of opportunities to present at conferences and talk about our work, and it was all kind of cutting-edge at that time. We were building something that didn't really exist, so there was a level of creativity to it, and I worked with a really great group of people. It was fun to be a part of that.
During that time, I did my master's in adult education at the local state college here, Worcester State College. And then I was ready to do something new, so I
took a job with a public education foundation, the Alliance for Education. It was a nonprofit, and we did a lot of fundraising for public education. We did partnerships between businesses and schools; we did different programs that brought attention to the education reform stuff that was going on in the state at that time, and how people in the community and parents and corporate partners could become involved and support that.
That was an awesome job because I got to meet a lot of teachers, guidance counselors, principals, and some of the key superintendents not only in Worcester, but also in the surrounding communities. And this was while my daughter was in elementary school, and then eventually [my son], Anthony, as well. I felt like I knew so many people in the school system, and that was valuable at so many levels. I felt really strongly about committing to public schools, and having your kids to go school in the community where you live and work. That's something I really grew to appreciate through that work.
Then I had an opportunity to go back to Quinsigamond. There was a local vocational institute that they were going to close. And Quinsigamond was the only college that stepped up to say, "We think we can make some of those programs into certificate or degree programs." So the vice president of academic affairs was looking for somebody who could do a lot of the data gathering and write the document that we had to present to the state. I had never worked on a project like that before, but over the course of a year and a half, we introduced 11 new degree or certificate programs at the college. It really expanded our repertoire.
People believe the only route to a solid future is to go to a four-year, prestigious institution. I think the Obama administration did a lot to help community colleges strengthen what they were doing and really create opportunities for people who were not college-going or who have been traditionally underserved. And I think what people don't realize is that community college is not the end. It's a step in a journey, and people will continue to go back to school and go back to school. If we can get people to understand that that four years is not the beginning and the end, or that that two years is not the beginning and the end; rather, it's the beginning of a process of figuring out how you're going to manage a career and your skills and your knowledge for a lifetime.
So at that point, I was the director of this special project, and then the state offered an early retirement and the college saw a huge group of people retire. I agreed to take on the dean position for the business and technology area for a year as an interim. They went through a search, and I saw a lot of candidates that were going to use our college as a stepping-stone to something they saw as bigger and better. There was nobody that expressed any real interest in staying here for any length of time. And by then, I had gotten attached to this group, to what we were doing. So when the college decided to reopen the search, I applied and was appointed to the position. I did that for 14 years.
We started a lot of new programs, we opened a new building, we did all kinds of good stuff. And then we just had another big retirement, and it was time to reorganize. So six months ago, I moved into the role of assistant vice president, and I have responsibility for the adult ed program where I first started, all of our workforce development programs, our career services, and then this kind of amorphous thing called "innovation."
The one thing that we all felt is that we were trying to start a lot of new things, but it's always managed by a committee where everyone's responsible and nobody's responsible. So in this role, my goal is to be that point person, the one that's shepherding things to make sure we go beyond pilots and actually get them working.
I've also been in a doctoral program for five years, an education doctorate focused on higher ed administration. I started it after my son went to college, and I think that was a really good time in my career to do this, because I have enough experience to have context for what we're reading and writing about. For my dissertation, I'm looking at the role of community college academic deans as middle managers when there's a planned change in the organization. I've been interviewing my colleagues about this experience, and it's pretty amazing to have that opportunity to talk to people.
Looking back, what seems clear to you now?
I love what I've done and I love working with community colleges. It kind of brings together that sense of the helping profession from way back when and all of my work with the refugee families, because we work with so many of those same people. But there are a couple of things that I wish I had done. I really wanted to move to Washington, D.C. when I got out of college, but there was no Internet and I didn't actually know how to do that, how to look for a job. So I stayed in Boston, but I met my husband, so that was something good.
I think maybe I would have been a little bit more daring about moving around, about traveling a little more and not getting so serious about work right away. But it was the 80s and when we graduated from college, everyone got jobs at the big eight accounting firms, they went into management training for programs at the big banks, people just went to work and then worked ridiculously long hours. So I don't regret anything, but I might have been a little bit more adventurous.
I think there are an enormous number of opportunities now for people that didn't exist back when I was 23 and first getting out of school. I would highly encourage people to take advantage of all the offices at the college you're at to get internships, to study abroad. Go find something that is just a little hard to do. Go off and do all those things, because there's not a better time in your life than your 20s to do all of that. And it goes by really fast.
Liberal Arts vs. Pre-Professional
When it comes to choosing a major in college, there are two options: liberal arts and pre-professional. Liberal arts has something of a stigma as people assume, first, that it has something to do with fine arts, like painting or sculpture; and second, that it's impractical [insert underwater basket weaving joke here]. Pre-professional majors, on the other hand, get a unanimous thumbs up from dads everywhere who use phrases like "return on investment" when discussing their child's college education. Many of my students ask me which path is better, and the answer really depends on what you're looking for.
First, some definitions. Harvard College explains that "in [a] liberal arts program, students are broadly educated in the social sciences, the natural sciences and the humanities." So while that does include fine arts, it also covers history, physics, sociology, and English, and much more. The vast majority of people I've interviewed for When I Was 17 have received liberal arts degrees, like Brittany who majored in applied mathematics, or Sari who majored in economics and sociology, or Blaine who majored in Latin American studies. In fact, the vast majority of colleges in the US primarily offer liberal arts majors.
A pre-professional program is one that leads directly to a profession (although it may require an advanced degree). This includes pre-med tracks, where you can officially major in anything but you have to complete certain prerequisites for medical school. Nursing, physical therapy, and pharmacy are other common pre-health programs. Engineering and computer science are especially popular pre-professional degrees right now. And to some extent, business degrees like marketing, accounting, and finance fall into this category.
Both types of degrees come with pros and cons. A liberal arts major can feel like a big question mark after you graduate, without a clear arrow pointing you toward specific jobs you should apply to. But that openness can benefit you in the long run, giving you the flexibility to pursue fields that are just emerging, or even starting something of your own. Many of the biggest names in business, tech, and politics hold liberal arts degrees:
Cory Booker, Senator from New Jersey – political science and sociology
Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo - symbolic systems (a combination of philosophy, cognitive psychology, linguistics, and computer science offered at Stanford University)
Elon Musk, Tesla + SpaceX – physics and economics
Barack Obama – political science, international relations, and English
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook - economics
Howard Schultz, Starbucks – speech communication
A pre-professional degree can lead more directly to a lucrative and stable job right out of college, which is something many parents are understandably more comfortable investing four years of college tuition for. But if the industry changes and your work becomes automated or outsourced, you may have difficulty pivoting to something new with a narrower, more specialized degree.
Ideally, you'd be able to study whatever you love and then turn that into a satisfying career where you make enough money to live the life that you want. But in real life, you'll probably have to make compromises in your major or your profession depending on your priorities and goals at that time. The best advice I can give is to stay open and flexible, take initiative to get involved with things that interest you, and make the most of the opportunities that present themselves. Whether liberal arts or pre-professional, basket weaving or data entry, those things will always lead to professional success.
When I Was 17: Michael Waldrep
Michael Waldrep is a filmmaker and researcher for Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin. I first met Michael last year through my friend and travel partner, Kari, also known as Michael's sister. I had always found Michael's professional path intriguing, so when I was in Berlin again last week, I bribed him with ramen to let me delve into his history. What followed was the longest interview I've done yet, and one of my favorite stories of finding professional satisfaction. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
When I Was 17: Decision Day
Just this past Tuesday, May 1st, my students and thousands of others decided
once and for all where they are going to attend college this fall. As with every year, there were moments of surprise, with yes's from schools that we expected to say no, and generous scholarships that made all the difference. There were also moments of rejection, with long-shot applications falling just short. When I get those disappointed texts, I always tell my students the same thing.
It's okay to feel sad or frustrated or disappointed. You worked hard, and things didn't go the way you wanted them to. Feel your feelings. But know that this is not a referendum on your future. I know, with complete certainty, that you will be okay. The quality of your college experience, your career, and the life you are going to live is still completely in your hands.
And the reason I can say that so confidently is because of these interviews. The people I've spoken to have gotten rejected from colleges, failed classes, and lost out on interviews, internships, and jobs. They've made mistakes and been fired. They've deferred college or dropped out of school or opted against college altogether. They've changed majors, changed universities, and gone back to school decades later. They've made compromises because of money or their families or geography. They've been told yes and no, many times over.
And yet, when I get to the end of our interview and I ask them if there's anything they would change about how they got to this point in their careers and in their lives, almost invariably, they say no. They say it almost apologetically; they admit that it's a cliché. But the truth is, most people wouldn't change anything because they're happy with where they've ended up. And in all likelihood, you will be too.
This doesn't happen by accident, of course. The stories I've collected are filled with moments of risk-taking and vulnerability and, occasionally, a leap of faith. There's also a healthy amount of luck and privilege underpinning these success stories. But more than anything, there is an openness described best in my recent interview with Scott Reardon: "You have to look at the doors in front of you, and if one opens, it might not be what you thought, but don't be afraid to walk through it, because you don't know what's on the other side." It's that openness that I try to encourage in my students when they're applying to college, and it's something I hope they'll take into their university experience and beyond.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Java math question, outcome different! Why are the outcomes different for first and first1?  I'm guessing it has to do with the limit for the Long type.
long seconds = System.currentTimeMillis();
long first = (seconds / (1000*60*60*24))/365;
long first1 = seconds / (1000*60*60*24*365);
System.out.println(first);
System.out.println(first1);

Thanks!

A: The denominator of the second one overflows the int type.
No difference if you do it like this - use long throughout:
public class Overflow
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        long seconds = System.currentTimeMillis();
        long first = (seconds / (1000L * 60L * 60L * 24L)) / 365L;
        long i = 1000L * 60L * 60L * 24L * 365L;
        long first1;
        first1 = seconds / i;
        System.out.println(i);
        System.out.println(Integer.MAX_VALUE);
        System.out.println(first);
        System.out.println(first1);
        System.out.println(first1/first);
    }
}

A: Its because in the first one you dividing by an int, which gets truncated and then dividing by another int.
In the second one, you are just dividing by an int.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Thousands of Canadian-authored kids and YA books
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published: Jun 2008
imprint: Thomas Allen Publishers
Salt Fish Girl
by Larissa Lai
tagged: literary, contemporary women, fairy tales, folk tales, legends & mythology
Salt Fish Girl is the mesmerizing tale of an ageless female character who shifts shape and form through time and place. Told in the beguiling voice of a narrator who is fish, snake, girl, and woman - all of whom must struggle against adversity for survival - the novel is set alternately in nineteenth-century China and in a futuristic Pacific Northwest.
At turns whimsical and wry, Salt Fish Girl intertwines the story of Nu Wa, the shape-shifter, and that of Miranda, a troubled young girl living in the walled city of Serendipity circa 2044. Miranda is haunted by traces of her mother's glamourous cabaret career, the strange smell of durian fruit that lingers about her, and odd tokens reminiscient of Nu Wa. Could Miranda be infected by the Dreaming Disease that makes the past leak into the present?
Framed by a playful sense of magical realism, Salt Fish Girl reveals a futuristic Pacific Northwest where corporations govern cities, factory workers are cybernetically engineered, middle-class labour is a video game, and those who haven't sold out to commerce and other ills must fight the evil powers intent on controlling everything. Rich with ancient Chinese mythology and cultural lore, this remarkable novel is about gender, love, honour, intrigue, and fighting against oppression.
Larissa Lai is the author of two novels, When Fox Is a Thousand, shortlisted for the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and Salt Fish Girl, shortlisted for the Tiptree Award, the Sunburst Award and the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Award; one book of poetry Automaton Biographies, shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Award; and a chapbook, Eggs in the Basement, shortlisted for the bp Nichol Chapbook Award. Through the 90s, she was a cultural organizer in feminist, GLBTQ and anti-racist communities in Vancouver. Now, as an English professor at the University of British Columbia, she teaches courses on race, memory, and citizenship, as well as on biopower and the poetics of relation. Rita Wong teaches in Critical + Cultural Studies at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC, Canada, where she has developed a humanities course focused on water, with the support of a fellowship from the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. She is currently researching the poetics of water, supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada: http://downstream.ecuad.ca/ . Her poems have appeared in anthologies such as Prismatic Publics: Innovative Canadian Women's Poetry and Poetics, Regreen: New Canadian Ecological Poetry, Visions of British Columbia (published for an exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery), and Making a Difference: Canadian Multicultural Literature. She has a passion for daylighting buried urban streams and for watershed literacy. Wong can be found on twitter at https://twitter.com/rrrwong.
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Majestically written, with wild but contained imagery.
— Vancouver Sun
Salt Fish Girl is a well written and highly inventive novel.
— Georgia Straight
She sweeps our imagination with the flick of a fox's tail, the gleam of an eye.
— Hiromi Goto
A remarkable debut. It is a magical book.
— Books in Canada
A particularly acute pleasure.
— The Advocate
Lai has an excellent command of structure making the complex storytelling seem effortless, and the book is full of startling insights into dysfunctional human behaviour.
— The Calgary Herald
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I oversaw production and release of our dashboard, hardware, & first-party apps. I lead the design and engineering teams in building the only digital signage product built to minimize complexity between idea and screen. I worked closely with customers to establish our first year's roadmap of features critical to their business.
I coordinated our work with Supersequent, a machine learning performance marketing firm, to generate paid acquisition and reduce CAC from $1,200 to $200 in the first 3 months.
I ran the product and marketing teams. We grew Mira from $0 to over $500,000 ARR in its first year of sales.
Atomic builds companies by iterating quickly, sharing knowledge, and de-risking opportunities across their portfolio.
I worked with designers and PMs to quickly develop product prototypes focusing on mobile and web. Prototypes were shipped to control audiences within 1 week to 1 month of ideation. We focused on iOS, web via React, and microservices via AWS Lambda.
I also lead efforts to support Founders In Residence in Atomic's unique model of company building. Prototypes were generated for investor consideration.
A monster training game played in the real world. Everyone wants to play Pokémon on their phone. It's obvious. We weren't Nintendo, but we built a pretty good substitute.
MegaBits featured custom music, combat, monsters, & a narrative shared across all players. Play largely centered around combat and episodic & regional content.
The game was well-received on Product Hunt, but Pokémon Go eventually caused us to wind down. Still a substitute, after all.
I ran MegaBits from a Startup Weekend pitch to seed funding and 1,000 monthly active users.


Created a poster for the 2014 Riddick movie competition. Unfortanetely I did not win.
I do not own the rights to any of the images. of Riddick This was created for a competition and by no means I am trying to make money with it. It is another "personal" piece for my portfolio.


After the New Year's Day parade to usher in 2015, Calendar events Paris 2015 sees the world of decoration at the Paris Deco Off Show. This event will be held from January 22-26 at the Osborne and Little Paris showroom. This is the 6th edition of the event and it is a free event during five days for professionals and the general public.
From January 23-26, the Bijorhca Paris Jewelry and Watches Show will be held at the Paris de Versailles. This event allows buyers and retailers of fashion and fine jewelry to discover more than 500 designers of fine and fashion jewelry from around the world. Trends are revealed during the event, and you can also get your deals done.
On February 14, St. Valentine's Day takes center stage, and this is a day for people to express love for one another. On this day, you can get away with that someone special with a great range of romantic deals in Paris. You can spend a magical evening in the most romantic city in the world, and there are many hotels offering attractive packages for couples.
February also sees the Paris Fashion Week taking place from February 21-25, and this is a very popular event that attracts A-List celebrities, including actors, pop stars and athletes.
The Philharmonie de Paris has dedicated its first exhibition to David Bowie, and the event will take place from March 3-31 at the Cite de la Musique. This is a flagship exhibition that has proven to be very successful across the globe. During this event, the rocker will move seamlessly between the genres of glam rock, soul, disco, funk and electronic.
Over the years, the French capital's half-marathon has become a must-see event, and it will take place on March 8. The marathon currently holds IAAF Bronze Label status, and it attracts elite runners from all over the world.
April Fool's Day is a time to play practical jokes on your family and friends. On this day, you should not believe everything you read in the newspapers because editors will try to fool you with stories that are literally out of this world.
The Easter weekend of 4th to 7th April is a religious occasion for families to have a moment to share delicious meals and chocolate eggs.
The Foire of Paris fair is an exhibition of home decorations, model gardens, camping and other outdoor activities, and it takes place from 29th April to May 10th at the Paris Porte de Versailles.
Labor Day in Paris means that there will be no going to work. On this day, most offices and business are closed but you can spend the day sightseeing in the French capital.
From May 1-3, the Paris Video Games Show takes place, and it's a trade fair for video games that take place at the Parc des Expositions Paris Nord Villepinte.
The highlight of the month of May is the French Open Tennis Championship, which starts on the 24th at the Roland Garros. Top-flight tennis players will grace the occasion, and Rafael Nadal will be defending the men's singles title while Maria Sharapova will be defending her women's singles title.
The International Paris Air Show will take place on 7 days from the 15th to the 21st of June. This is the world's largest aerospace trade show, and the 51st edition will be held at Le Bourget Exhibition Center a few kilometers from Paris. This event allows companies to showcase their products and seize new commercial opportunities.
Summer Sales in Paris will take place from 24th June to July 28th, and it is a popular sales event where prices can be slashed up to 75% towards the end of the sales season.
The Paris Jazz Festival will take place from June 7th to July 27th, and it is now a major interactive cultural event. The cobbled streets of Paris are a magical setting for an evening of beautiful jazz music, and there is no entry fee.
Bastille Day in France is a day to celebrate French culture, and this public holiday takes place on July 14 each year. This day celebrates the start of the French Revolution with various celebrations, including parades, pyrotechnics and air shows.
The Luxembourg Garden will host a series of free concerts throughout the month of August. These free concerts run from spring through fall, and they are normally held on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays.
Rock en Seine is an annual festival that will take place just outside of Paris, in the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud from Friday 28th August until Sunday 30th August. Three-day ticket holders will be allowed to camp at the venue.
St-Cloud will host Europe's largest fireworks display, and it will last for two hours.
European Heritage Days is an opportunity for people to visit famous sites and monuments free of charge.
The Paris Techno Parade is an event that sees underground techno artists perform in public, and these performances are unavoidable as the Paris techno parade asserts itself along three miles of the city. Over 400,000 fans are expected but the exact date is yet to be determined.
When autumn arrives, the rhythm doesn't slow but simply gears up for the new season. Nuit Blanche is when the people in Paris don't sleep as they listen to great performances from the best musical acts.
On October 31, Disneyland Paris will host the Halloween Festival where Disney characters will parade in spooky costumes along streets decorated with pumpkins.
November is the European Month of Photography, which is a festival that is held in several cities across Europe. This is a prestigious art fair that is dedicated to historical and contemporary photography.
From November 28th to December 6th, there will be a horse exhibition that will feature jumping competitions, breeding presentations and the World Arabian Horse Championships. This is an opportunity to admire the world's most beautiful pure bred Arabian horses.
From the 5th to the 13th of December, the Salon Nautique de Paris will be a gathering of the world of boating and water sports.
December is also the holiday season and there will be window displays at various venues in Paris. There will also be Christmas markets at the Eiffel Tower and Champs-Elysees.
These are just some of the highlights of Calendar events Paris 2015, and there are many more events that you can explore.
You may want to consider these tips: How to Do Paris for a Week without Breaking The Bank, that will definitely help you save some money while travelling and assist to these Events.
Previous story Where to go with €10.55 Paris Visit 1 Day Travel Pass?


Fleur Cowgill has created her own visual language of color and energetic, gestural brushstroke. In abstract landscapes, like Beyond Lefkada: Under Water, Cowgill lets fluid paint form an organic grid on the surface of the canvas and adds layers of color. She uses wax to create deep ridges, and carves or scrapes into them to reveal the colorful glaze beneath.
Cowgill has lived in several countries, from England to the Belgian Congo, experiencing a vast difference in light, color, and landscape. She draws inspiration from these references, filling her canvases with evocative sensations.


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Home › The Smile of NIKE - Memorial March / Ken'ichi Masakado [Score and Parts](Using color fine paper on full score)
The Smile of NIKE - Memorial March / Ken'ichi Masakado [Score and Parts](Using color fine paper on full score)
Default Title - ¥17,500 JPY
Score and Parts
The Smile of NIKE - Memorial March
Composed by Ken'ichi Masakado (正門研一)
Publisher:Golden Hearts Publications(ONSA)
Printing Material:color fine paper for score and parts
Program notes:
Commissioned as ceremony music for the 63rd National Sports Festival and the 8th National Sports Festival for the Disabled held in Oita Prefecture in 2008, It was performed mainly by the ceremony band conducted by the composer as the main march when entering and leaving the team at the opening and closing ceremonies of both tournaments. Composed from early 2007 to spring.
"Nike" is the "goddess of victory" in Greek mythology. Everybody has seen the statue "Nike of Samothrace" at the Louvre Museum in France, and it is well known that the name of a famous American sporting goods maker comes from Nike.
"Which goddess of victory smiles?"
This phrase is often heard in sports broadcasts. This phrase and the Nike of Samothrace (as you know, without a head) are the basis of the work and the idea of the title.
Participants in both tournaments are those who have passed qualifying rounds in Japan. In other words, Nike smiled at least once ... The work includes a tribute to the qualifying win and participation in both tournaments, and a prayer for the players to be able to exercise their full potential in the upcoming tournament. I think that the goddess of victory will gently smile and snuggle to those who believe in their own ways and work hard. Not only sports, but also a song for those who believe in their own way and walk steadily.
(Ken'ichi Masakado)
Flutes 1&2
Oboes 1&2
Bassoons 1&2
Clarinet in Eb
Clarinets in Bb 2&3
Alto Saxophones in Eb 1&2
Horns in F 1&2
Trumpets in Bb 2&3
Trombones 1&2
Cymbals & Suspended Cymbal
4 Tom-Toms
Extra Parts (included):
Horns in Eb 1&2
Trombone in Bb 1&2 (T.C)
Trombone in Bb 3 (T.C)
Trombones in Bb 1&2 (B.C)
Trombone in Bb 3 (B.C)
Euphoniums in Bb (T.C)
Euphoniums in Bb (B.C)
Basses in Eb (T.C)
Basses in Bb (T.C)


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How Pam Savage and Sick Beats hit the right note
Tim Cumming talks to Pam Savage at Area 23 about the double Grand Prix-winning Sick Beats campaign, and those points where science, technology and creativity can meet to change the world.
by Tim Cumming on 18th August 2021
To bring home 11 awards from Cannes, for one campaign, is something of a pinnacle achievement, one to decorate a prominent shelf or two. To win two Grand Prix for that one campaign is something else again.
The value, importance and potential in this project, and the attention on it, helps us as we continue to develop it.
But, for Pam Savage, SVP and Creative Director at Area 23, an IPG Health company, the biggest reward will come when Sick Beats, the innovative campaign-cum-life-changing product that won not only the rarely-awarded Pharma Grand Prix but the Radio & Audio Grand Prix too, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the US, is manufactured with haptic technology pioneers Woojer, and begins to change the lives of the tens of thousands who must live and cope with cystic fibrosis.
Agency Area 23/New York
Above: A video explaining what Sick Beats is and how the technology works.
"To win the Pharma and the Radio & Audio Grand Prix was a huge surprise and wonderful honour," says Savage. "It's wonderful to be recognised by our peers. The value, importance and potential in this project, and the attention on it, helps us as we continue to develop it. It keeps people excited and brings new people into the process with us."
I was an adequate scientist, but I much preferred talking about science and thinking about science rather than actually doing it.
The story of Sick Beats as a real-world project goes back 2018 but, for Savage, it's something that has roots in her training and work as a scientist. "When I was looking at graduate schools, I actually thought that I was going to work on cystic fibrosis," she says. "I wanted to find a cure for it. I ultimately didn't end up doing that, but it's always been something interesting and important to me."
She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Medical School with a PhD in biomedical sciences. "I focused mainly on infectious diseases," she says – an area she still focuses on in advertising. "And, as it turned out, I was an adequate scientist, but I much preferred talking about science and thinking about science rather than actually doing it.
Area 23 has given me the opportunity to apply the science and also the humanity and emotion that I like to bring to any work I have in front of me.
She describes a career arcing through intellectual property law and medical writing before entering advertising 13 years ago. "[It] really was a wonderful combination of what I loved about science and medicine, and what I loved about talking and telling people about how cool things were in the science and health space. And Area 23 has given me the opportunity to apply the science and also the humanity and emotion that I like to bring to any work I have in front of me."
Above: Area 23's Pam Savage.
A discussion on the meaning behind the name, Area 23 (relating, it turns out, to the fact that "we were born out of FCB DNA and have 23 pairs of chromosomes") leads to the question of what drives innovation at the agency. "We have a process called What If" says Savage, "giving every employee a dedicated time for blue-sky thinking.
[It] was discovered by someone with cystic fibrosis who went to a concert, stood too close to a speaker and noticed the effect in their lungs.
As a team, we were talking about cystic fibrosis, and I recalled a news segment of a young man wearing this big, mechanical vest that was pounding away on his chest [to dislodge the build-up of mucus in the lungs], and he looked so miserable. And we said, at the very least someone should create a vest that syncs to your playlist, so the experience is a bit more enjoyable. So, we pitched it at a What If throwdown. It didn't win but there was so much interest we incubated the idea, and started doing research."
This was back in 2018, and their research uncovered the fact that 40Hz frequencies were able to break up the mucus that cystic fibrosis creates as effectively as the mechanical percussion of the vests. "This was discovered by someone with cystic fibrosis who went to a concert, stood too close to a speaker and noticed the effect in their lungs," says Savage. "So, then we started looking at music that had enough of the 40Hz to be therapeutic." They partnered with a tech company to build a prototype, a clinical trial was set up and fully enrolled, and then Covid hit. "Everything stopped. The tech company pivoted their business interests to something else, the trial was shelved – and that is when Woojer came in to play."
Above: Savage cites Imagine Dragons' Thunder as a perfect song, with a 40Hz frequency, that helps dislodge mucus from the lungs of those with cystic fibrosis.
YDA-winner Christian Schilling on visualising the power of friendship
How David Dearlove made the YDA laugh
Woojer, along with Claire's Place Foundation, a cystic fibrosis support charity, are the long-term partners in the Sick Beats story. The company makes haptic vests, for gamers and music lovers, "for people who love music to feel the bass in their chest," says Savage, "or for gamers who want that sensory feedback."
Having swept the awards at Cannes, the next step, says Savage, "is getting the vest into a clinical trial so all this attention helps people see the project".
Woojer was able to retune the processor in the haptic vest to deliver 40Hz frequencies without distorting the song being listening to. "So, we're getting as much 40Hz into the chest as we need, without disrupting the musical experience," says Savage, who cites hip-hop, EDM, and bands like Imagine Dragons, and their song Thunder as prime cuts of music that do the job of clearing mucus to an addictive beats of 40Hx bangerz.
Now, having swept the awards at Cannes, the next step, says Savage, "is getting the vest into a clinical trial so all this attention helps people see the project. Pulminologists will find out about it, and hopefully trial it in their clinics, and help us to get FDA approved, which is our ultimate goal because we're dedicated to making this vest a reality for kids to use." Which means Area 23 is embedded as much in the development and production of Sick Beats as its promotion.
We're dedicated to making this vest a reality for kids to use.
"At Area 23, we've had this trend of technology and innovation helping to better humanity," she says, pointing to earlier achievements, such as the pioneering See Sound, a smart-home hearing system drawing from a vast library of sound samples to visually alert the deaf and hard of hearing when a sound occurs in their living space. "It took advantage of an insight from an art director whose husband is deaf," says Savage, "They worked late nights and on the side to get the project to life, and then partnered with Wavio [specialists in sound recognition technology]. Before then, it was something that didn't exist in the world. And it also won a Grand Prix in Innovation at Cannes."
Get Up Alarm Clock
Above: Area 23's Get Up Alarm Clock, which uses social media feeds to help motivate those with terminal cancer.
Another Area 23 project fusing tech with emotional insight is the Get Up Alarm Clock, designed for people with terminal cancer who need encouragement to get up and out of bed to face another day. "We created an alarm clock that syncs to your social media profile, where your family friends and loved ones can leave you messages or silly things that projects onto your ceiling to help you find that motivation to get up."
It's not tech for the sake of being cool, but something that really solves a problem.
While other tech innovations outside the medical space – the likes of VR and XR – tend towards the cool, the entertaining and the all-consuming, the technology Area 23 explores has a different DNA. "It's not tech for the sake of being cool, but something that really solves a problem," says Savage. "It's tech that understands the challenge the audience faces, and does something different and meaningful, which makes these projects stand apart."
Whether it's adapting haptic vests for cystic fibrosis, creating enabling, interactive tech for the deaf, or for people facing terminal illnesses, Area 23's work shows how intuition and creativity in tech can give rise to innovations and insights that can literally be life-changing.
"Listening to and observing your audiences' reaction to the work, that was most eye-opening for me," says Savage of the Sick Beats project. "Watching these kids try the vest and play around with it. This little girl, Viv, said she fought her mum everyday to use the [standard] vest, because she hated it. And to watch her react to the Sick Beats vest, we could see we were onto something here, that we were doing the right thing.
There are so many thing we could do using technology. We have to foster that spirit in our clients to believe it is possible.
"There are so many thing we could do using technology," she continues. "We have to foster that spirit in our clients to believe it is possible. Sick Beats being recognised in this manner is so important because it inspires other clients to think, I can think about this problem differently, and take a risk."
Now creative director at BAFTA and Emmy-nominated creative community, Untold Studios, Phil was previously video commissioner at XL Recordings, where he spent 21 years helping to create award-winning visuals for stars including Adele, Radiohead, M.I.A and FKA Twigs. Here he shares his thoughts on litter, long service and living in the moment.
YDA WINNERS 2021
In the last of our focusses on 2021's YDA winners, Vincent Gibaud discusses his Gold Screen win in the Animation category for his haunting short, Two Nightmares in My Story, for Face à l'Inceste.
Christian Schilling's spec spot for Duracell picked up a gold trophy at the YDA 2021. Here he discusses how his mother's music box, a dip in a white-water river and – possibly – Forrest Gump all contributed to the making of his epic film.
David Dearlove is a creative and an award-winning director who won a Gold Screen in Best Use of Humour at this year's Young Director Award for his brilliant parody of short film tropes. Here, he talks about why he made his film and why a farmer's field isn't as cheap to use as you might think.


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NBA finals, Lakers Celtics Game 2: The Lakers know what is coming Sunday
By Kurt HelinJun 4, 2010, 6:11 PM EDT
That was not the Celtics.
Or at least the Celtics that will come to play Sunday. They'll look the same, wear the same uniforms, but they won't act the same.
A more aggressive Lakers team and some aggressive whistles from the referees had Boston taking a step back in Game 1. They spent much of the game on their heels. They let the Lakers control the paint, they let the Lakers dribble into the heart of their defense.
It's not going to be that easy in Game 2. And the Lakers know that.
"I think they'll make it much more difficult for us to get to the basket," Phil Jackson said. "I think they're going to try to close their lanes off. I think there were segments of screen-and-roll opportunities that hurt them, they'll make adjustments there. They're a good adjustment team."
The word of the day was aggressive from the Lakers.
"I expect (Kevin Garnett) and the whole team to just be more aggressive, you know, and with a sense of urgency, understanding the importance of Game 2," Pau Gasol said. "But I expect us to be even more aggressive and be ready for that type of intensity that they might bring."
The Lakers also talked about keeping the Celtics from getting easy baskets in transition, of dominating the boards again. Boston, of course, said just the opposite.
There will be adjustments, but with two teams that played each other in the finals two years ago and are still running the same systems, everybody is pretty familiar with each other. There are not a lot of secrets left, not many unexpected tweaks to come.
It's about execution. It's about passion. It is about aggression and physicality.
And the Lakers seem to know what is coming on Sunday.


In this article you'll find 3 questions that will help you tackle a fear of failure.
I bet it's happened to you too. After the first, exhilarating moment when you were brimming over with excitement about a new idea, challenge or situation, little by little you found your enthusiasm giving way to doubt and hesitation.
Questions like 'What if it doesn't go well?' and 'What if I don't succeed?' started to pop into your mind.
This is called fear of failure. It makes you feel insignificant and robs you of all your self-assurance.
I can tell you right now that very often this fear is completely unfounded. Where's the proof you're going to fail? Usually, there isn't any. It's nothing but a fear.
But how many times have you let this feeling get the better of you and stop you from moving forwards? How many important opportunities have you missed out on because you thought you might fail?
Enough is enough – it's time to face up to this fear. Let's see how to do it with these 3 simple questions.
1. What would I do if I knew I couldn't fail?
This question may make you feel uncomfortable. As soon as you catch a glimpse of the actions you'd take and the results you'd achieve if you weren't afraid of failing, you realize that the scariest of situations hold a huge amount of potential.
Once you're aware of this, whole new avenues of opportunity open up to you.
If you're faced with an important choice, try to listen to your heart and follow your instincts.
If you could get rid of your fear of failure, what would your decision be? What would you do?
Taking small actions – baby steps – is enough for you to move forward. You'll be closer to your goal before you know it.
2. If I really were to fail, how could I recover?
It's very helpful to follow a train of thought that keeps you firmly rooted in reality and disrupts the whirlwind of paranoid and unrealistic thoughts that a fear of failure can trigger.
If the worst-case scenario actually happened, what would you do? How could you put things right?
Generally, the answer isn't as alarming as you think and makes you realize that even in the worst of situations, nothing is truly beyond hope of recovery.
3. What would happen if I did nothing?
When life presents you with a great challenge, or when you're forced to make an important decision that could affect everything around you, it means you need a change.
That's right. This need for change, whether conscious or not, will lead you into a situation where you can't help but make a decision.
What would happen if I did nothing? What would the consequences of inaction be?
Instead of moving forward, you'd probably go backwards!
Remember that it's normal to experience fear – it's entirely human. The important things are to recognize it for what it is and not to let it take control. In fact, you can turn it into a friend and ally.
Next time you experience a fear of failure, don't let it get the better of you. Simply stop for a moment and ask yourself the 3 questions outlined above. They will help you to see clearly and to find the resources you need to deal with your fear in the best possible way.


Paychecks aside, consider how we can bless others this Christmas. Sometimes, the best gift is our time or simple ways we can express thoughtfulness and God's love.
Special thanks to Ashley L. Jones for hosting this post on her website. Click over to BigSisterKnows.com for more godly encouragement.
Thanks to author Ashley L. Jones for hosting this week's post on her blog at BigSisterKnows.com. Check out her site for more godly encouragement.
I paused on the word heartily, because it instantly reminded me of Colossians 3:23.
In other words, we're supposed to love God with everything we've got, or, as my friend and author Ashley L. Jones often reminds us, with gusto!
To read the full post, visit BigSisterKnows.com. I'm grateful to my friend, author Ashley L. Jones, for the invitation to share on her blog this week!


The Four Seasons Resort and Golf Club is located in Las Colinas Texas. The Four Seasons golf course hosts the annual Byron Nelson championship, which is a PGA tour event. The Four Seasons was originally designed and opened in 1982 by Jay Morrish. Then in 2009, D.A. Weibring redesigned the entire course.


Join us again on Tuesday 27th September 2016 in Braes basement Bar for another fantastic night of comedy featuring academic talent from Dundee and beyond!
Daniel Mariyappa – Not again! A fly in my tea..
Tickets are on sale at the incredible price of only £6 a ticket, so don't get disappointed and book yours right here!** SOLD OUT!
We are very excited to tell you that our line-up and compere have now been confirmed for Bright Club #27, taking place on Tuesday 21st June 2016, at Braes Basement Bar on Perth Road.
Valerie Bentivegna – Do I Have The Guts?
Bright Club Dundee takes place on Tuesday 21st June 2016 at Braes Basement Bar, 14-18 Perth Road, Dundee. Doors open at 7.30pm with the show kicking off at 8.30pm.
What would happen if we got a bunch of interesting comedians and musicians, and combined them with all of the fascinating people who work for one of the UK's best Universities?
The answer? Well come and join us and the charming and witty Jay Lafferty on Tuesday 26th April 2016 in Braes basement Bar for another fantastic night of Bright Club Dundee comedy with Scotland's Universities! Doors open at 7.30pm and the night kicks off at 8.30pm.


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Art Deco drinking den Dulcie's dances into Kings Cross
by Sarah Bristow
delicious. team
A bohemian haunt inspired by the 1930s is here.
Kings Cross today is a far cry from what it once was. And while we're talking pre-lockout laws, I'm referring in particular to the raging 1930s when the Cross was in its prime. Step in Dulcie's, the district's latest drinking haunt which has been created in an ode to the mischief of the bygone era.
The 1930s Kings Cross was rather bohemian; a collection of intellectuals and artists drawn to the hub of the arts, culture and theatre. Within the suburb's borders were an array of nightclubs, jazz bars, billiard rooms, oyster saloons and illegal casinos. All were frequented by colourful characters including writer Mary Elizabeth Kathleen Dulcie Deamer, after whom Dulcie's is named.
Hoping to recreate the electricity of 1930s Kings Cross, Dulcie's creator Brandon Martignago has put emphasis on the immersive experience within the new bar. Of course, it helps that Martignago boasts more than 15 years worth of experience in hospitality in Sydney, as well as a background in theatre.
"I am obsessed with the stories of Sydney," Martignago explains of his inspiration. "I wanted to create a fully immersive experience where time is irrelevant and where the atmosphere is insatiable. It's all theatrical. It's a story. And it's such a good story you will believe in it and go so far as to contribute towards it."
Further reflecting Martignago's patriotism is the food and wine menu here. The self-proclaimed 'boutique drinking parlour' is overflowing with Australian liquors, wines and dishes, in an effort to celebrate the distinctly Aussie of flavours and producers.
Dulcie's
44b Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross
dulcieskingscross.com.au


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Hi, everybody. In my State of the Union Address, I talked about pizza. [Laughter] More specifically, I talked about a pizza chain in Minneapolis, Punch Pizza, whose owner, John Soranno, made the business decision to give his employees a raise to 10 bucks an hour.
A couple of weeks ago, I got a letter from a small-business owner who watched that night. Yasmin Ibrahim is an immigrant who owns her own restaurant, Desi Shack, and plans to open another this summer.
Here's what she wrote: "I was moved by John Soranno's story. It got me thinking about my . . . full-time employees and their ability to survive on $8 an hour in New York City." So a few weeks ago, Yasmin put in place a plan to lift wages for her employees at both her restaurants to at least $10 an hour by the end of this year.
But here's the thing. Yasmin isn't just raising her employees' wages because it's the right thing to do. She's doing it for the same reason John Soranno did: It makes good business sense.
Yasmin wrote: "It will allow us to attract and retain better talent—improving customer experience, reducing employee churn and training costs. We believe doing so makes good business sense while at the same time having a positive impact on the community." Yasmin's right. That's why, 2 months ago, I issued an Executive order requiring workers on new Federal contracts to be paid a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour.
But in order to make a difference for every American, Congress needs to do something, and America knows it. Right now there's a bill that would boost America's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. That would lift wages for nearly 28 million Americans across the country—28 million. And we're not just talking about young people on their first job. The average minimum wage worker is 35 years old. They work hard, often in physically demanding jobs.
And while not all of us always see eye to eye politically, one thing we overwhelmingly agree on is that nobody who works full time should ever have to live in poverty. That's why nearly three in four Americans support raising the minimum wage. The problem is, Republicans in Congress don't support raising the minimum wage. Some even want to get rid of it entirely. In Oklahoma, for example, the Republican Governor just signed a law prohibiting cities from establishing their own minimum wage.
That's why this fight is so important. That's why people like John and Yasmin are giving their workers a raise. That's why several States, counties, and cities are going around Congress to raise their workers' wages. That's why I'll keep up this fight. Because we know that our economy as a whole works best when it works for all of us, not just a fortunate few. We believe we do better when everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead. That's what opportunity is all about.
And if you agree with us, we could use your help. Republicans have voted more than 50 times to undermine or repeal health care for millions of Americans. They should vote at least once to raise the minimum wage for millions of working families. If a Republican in Congress represents you, tell him or her it's time to give the politics a rest for a while and do something to help working Americans. It's time for "10-10." It's time to give America a raise. Thanks, and have a great weekend.
NOTE: The address was recorded at approximately 11:55 a.m. on April 18 in the Roosevelt Room at the White House for broadcast on April 26. In the address, the President referred to Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on April 25, but was embargoed for release until 6 a.m. on April 26.


Houston Marble Honing: Marble can be honed to a matte or satin finish through a grinding process. We can also remove severe etching and deep scratching through our marble honing service.
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Solutions Journalism
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Troy, thankful for help, eyes Sun Belt championship
The Trojans, following a surprising Arkansas State loss, can grab piece of title with win in regular-season finale.
Troy, thankful for help, eyes Sun Belt championship The Trojans, following a surprising Arkansas State loss, can grab piece of title with win in regular-season finale. Check out this story on montgomeryadvertiser.com: http://on.mgmadv.com/2gBwJZ0
A. Stacy Long, Montgomery Advertiser Published 4:32 p.m. CT Nov. 28, 2016 | Updated 6:47 p.m. CT Nov. 28, 2016
Troy defensive lineman Jamal Stadom says the Trojans were pleased to learn they have a shot at a Sun Belt championship and thanks the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, whose win over Arkansas State helped Troy. Stacy Long
Troy quarterback Brandon Silvers and the Trojans can clinch a share of the Sun Belt title with a win over Georgia Southern on Saturday.(Photo: Chuck Cook/USA TODAY Sports)
TROY — The news burst through Troy's locker room like a rampaging flood.
The Trojans, preparing for last weekend's game at Texas State, learned their hopes of a Sun Belt Conference championship had been revived.
Troy finished Saturday with a 40-7 win at Texas State and newfound hope.
Arkansas State's 24-19 loss at Louisiana-Lafayette means Troy — with a win this weekend in its regular-season finale — will tie for a league title.
"I think we were all happy," defensive lineman Jamal Stadom said. "We were excited being back in the talks of things. Kind of sad we had to pray for another team to beat them … but it is what it is.
"Shout out to Louisiana-Lafayette: Thanks."
Troy (9-2, 6-1 Sun Belt), entering Saturday's game at Georgia Southern (4-7, 3-4), is one of three teams with one league loss.
Appalachian State (9-3, 7-1) has completed its regular season. Arkansas State (6-5, 6-1), which was in control after a 35-3 win at Troy two weeks ago, plays at Texas State this weekend.
"Lafayette did a good job helping us, but we still have to win," Troy quarterback Brandon Silvers said. "It's not going to matter if we go out and lose on Saturday.
"We have to win and get a share of the conference championship."
Troy hasn't sniffed a league championship since 2010 when the Trojans last had a winning season and reached a bowl game.
This year, the Trojans know they'll be in a bowl — destination to be determined — and will see if they can pick up some jewelry, too.
Championship rings are a win away.
"I'm proud of the guys to put us in this position," second-year coach Neal Brown said. "We know what is at stake. If we win, we get a piece of the Sun Belt Conference championship, which would be a huge step in Year 2."
The Trojans, of course, faced a similar situation before hosting Arkansas State two weeks ago when both teams were unbeaten in conference play.
Troy had its worst game of the season in the 35-3 loss but rebounded at Texas State.
After going minus-5 on turnovers against Arkansas State, the Trojans were plus-2 against the Bobcats. Troy also played cleanly with two penalties for a season-low 15 yards.
"We went out and took care of business, like we should have," Brown said. "You don't get a loss like we had against Arkansas State out of your system until you play another game.
"So, that game has been played and it is out of our system. Now we have to get back to playing with our edge."
Troy coach Neal Brown says the Trojans \u0022have a lot to play for\u0022 Saturday at Georgia Southern and remembers how the Eagles have dominated Troy the last two years. The Trojans can clinch a share of the Sun Belt title with a win. Stacy Long
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Deconstructing who you play: character choice in online gaming
Hodges, Duncan; Buckley, Oliver
URI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2018.06.002
Hodges D, Buckley O. Deconstructing who you play: character choice in online gaming. Entertainment Computing, Volume 27, August 2018, pp. 170-178
The major growth in gaming over the last five to ten years has been through the expansion in online gaming, with the most frequent gamers now playing more games online than with others in person. The increase in cooperative multiplayer online gaming, where players who do not know each other come together in teams to achieve a common goal, leads to interesting social situations. The research in this paper is focussed on the online multiplayer game Overwatch, in this game playable characters are grouped into a number of classes and characters within these classes. A player chooses the character at the start of a given round, and whilst they can change the character during the game round this is generally undesirable. In this research we were interested in how players go about selecting a character for a given round of the game, this is a complex interaction where a player has to balance between personal character preference (either a character they enjoy playing or is well-mapped to their playstyle and skill) and ensuring a team has a balance of player classes. The interaction is complicated by the online nature meaning it is difficult to reward a team-mate for selecting a character they may not wish to play or playing a character which may mean they will perform poorly but the team will win. We recruited over 1000 Overwatch players and surveyed them on how they make their character choices within the game, they were also asked to complete various psychometric tests. We found that a gamers player 'type' (i.e. Killer, Achiever, Explorer or Socialiser) was defined by their agreeableness and their gender. We also found that player's choice of character class was related to their level of agreeableness and extroversion modulated by the player's gender. We also found that those who rate highly in conscientiousness and agreeableness and are socialisers or achievers were more likely to choose a character in order to achieve a balanced team rather than personal preference. The research is unique in the scale and number of respondents, it also addresses a problem in co-operative gaming where players must negotiate the composition of a team. This negotiation is often performed without any background knowledge of other player's skill levels, this is the first study at this scale considering this within the context of co-operative online gaming.
Name: character_choice_ ...


Ella Kimbrel, SHRM-SCP, SPHR was named the Mid-Florida SHRM HR Professional of the Year at the February Dinner meeting. She is employed as the VP of Human Resources at Harrell's LLC and is currently serving as immediate past president here at the Chapter.
Please congratulate Ella when you see her!
Polk Vision is asking our members to participate in their workforce feedback process. There is no cost and breakfast or lunch is provided. Through this round-table discussion, they are looking for HR industry representatives to provide feedback regarding the current workforce and educational environments. This will assist them in providing feedback to the area educational institutions (including the colleges and Polk County Schools) about any deficits in training or skills. This could ultimately result in curriculum and programming changes to correct these issues.
Multiple round-table discussions will be held throughout Polk County. Click the link below to find the closest one to you.
Mid-Florida SHRM member Mark Codd, SHRM-SCP, has authored his first article for National SHRM's HR Daily e-newsletter. The article discusses public sources of information about unions for HR professionals. Click the link below to access the article.
HR Florida is hosting a 5K onsite at the Gaylord Palms!
We need you to join our Mid-Florida SHRM 5k team, be a Swan!! The 5k is on Sunday the 26th at 3 pm. A great way to kick off your conference experience! The 5k supports the Dan Marino Foundation. We will be strolling the 5k so no need to fear!
Our team will be wearing Swan accessories to show our Lakeland Chapter Pride! (provided by the Chapter) A perk of being on the team is entrance to the Sunday Funday at the Gaylord pool. You must have a 5k wristband to enter!
To make a direct donation to the Dan Marino Autism Foundation in the name of Mid-Florida SHRM, see the link below.
Remember to choose Mid-Florida SHRM as your team.
MORE INFORMATION: If you have not heard the word on the street, or you heard the talk but want the details, this is for you! The 2018 Conference Team is pleased to announce the first HR Florida 5K! This is an easy, fun event where participants can walk or run. (FYI: 5K = 3.1 miles. If you walk a 20 minute mile, it will take just over 1 hour to complete.) And don't forget, we also have the first HR Florida Sunday Funday Pool Party happening, so you can finish the 5K and jump in the pool!
The Mid-Florida SHRM "NEWS" blog is where you will find updated information from our various committees (legislative updates, community activities, etc). All events will be in the EVENTS page, not a blog post.
Lanier Upshaw was chosen one of the "2017 Best Companies to Work For in Florida" by Best Companies and Florida Trend. They made # 14 on the medium company size list. Congratulations to Mercedes Guzman and the team at Lanier Upshaw.